Down and Back: On Alcohol, Family, and a Life in Hockey

When Justin Bourne's father stole back the Stanley Cup ring he'd given his son as a graduation present, the younger man was forced to call into question just about everything he thought he knew about two of the most important things in his life: hockey, and his father.

Bob Bourne had been a star--an NHL All-Star, a Sports Illustrated "Athlete of the Year," a Stanley Cup champion. He was everything a son wants to emulate. And Justin did follow in those huge footsteps, leading his teams in scoring year after year, and finally garnering an invitation to the New York Islanders' training camp--the same team his father had played for.

Though an injury brought to an end his dream of winning a Cup, Bourne found a way to stay in the game. His blog caught the eye of both The Athletic and the Toronto Maple Leafs, and soon he was both coaching and writing professionally.

But at the same time, Justin was following his father's footsteps down a darker path. Though he hadn't had his first drink until he was 18, by 30 he was in rehab--his impressive career in the game in peril of being cut short. In an act of brutal self-honesty--which may not have been possible had his father not shown him the consequences of lying--Bourne got help, got sober, and confronted what his father and the game mean to him.

That honesty is the backbone of Playing Hurt. It is a frank and sometimes harsh appraisal of the game and of the man in his family who played it: the violence and danger, the booze and drugs, the consequences of fame for the young men who are not prepared for it. But it is also an honest look at what is redeeming about the game, through the eyes of someone who grew up in NHL dressing rooms, who has skated on NHL ice as both a player and a coach, who lives and breathes the game--and who inherited it from a man he can understand only through the game.